Artist:Jin Lan (Chinese, 1841–1910)
Period:Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Date:dated 1886
Culture:China
Medium:Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on alum paper
Dimensions:7 x 21 in. (17.8 x 53.3 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Gift of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, in memory of La Ferne Hatfield Ellsworth, 1986
Accession Number:1986.267.79
The influence of literati ideals in professional circles is evident in the work of Jin Lan, one of the Nine Friends of Shanghai. This elegant fan is painted, says Jin, in the style of Wang Mian (1287–1359), the Yuan master of ink plums. In the manner of Ming plum blossom painters, Jin washed the surface of the fan with pale silvery blue, leaving a full moon and the blossoms in reserve. The picture shimmers with moonlight, and the blossoms all bu disappear against the radiance, preserved by dark ink flecks that suggest sepals, petals and stamen. There is a fairy tale-like mystery to the tiny blossoms alive in the moonlight, delicate and evanescent.
Jin Lan dedicated his fan to Lu Hui, a student of Liu Deliu and an admired artist.